With songs, posters and candles, Indians will condemn terror

New Delhi, Dec 2 (IANS) Come one, come all! In an initiative to give voice to the angst and anguish of a shaken nation after the Mumbai terrorist attacks last week, people from all walks of life in six metros will come together Wednesday to condemn terror and demand a change in the system.In an e-mail campaign, all, especially the young, have been invited to take part in an “expression of anger and anguish” for a change in the system and for all the victims who lost their lives at one of India’s worst terror assaults.

The attack, which started Nov 26 night and continued for nearly 60 hours, left 183 people dead and over 300 injured.

“Indians have great resilience, but please don’t let the recent pain become distant just yet, don’t let the memory fade too soon. Capture your emotion and come to the venue with your form of expression,” the e-mail read.

“Showcase it at the venue through a painting, elegy, song, poster, a lit candle, or by just holding hands,” it further said.

The venues for the meet of solidarity are the Gateway of India in Mumbai, the Central Park of Connaught Place in New Delhi, Tank Bund in Telugutalli in Hyderabad, opposite government the guesthouse in Chennai, Cubbon Park in Bangalore and at the Maidan in Kolkata.

Richa Verma, a writer based in Delhi, is one of the many who will be participating in the meet Wednesday in her city.

“I recieved the mail this morning and since then have forwarded it to a number of my friends and acquaintances. Many of us are going for it simply because we so desperately want change and we really think that we have had enough. It’s now or never,” Verma told IANS.

The e-mail further says: “Pained we all surely are, but we must not allow ourselves to become numbed. Each of us needs to wake up from our comatose states to make our individual and collective opinion count.

“The only way to address this crucial and distressing issue is by becoming a part of the solution. After all, as long as India is ‘of the people, for the people, by the people’, we will be fully responsible for the change that we want to see in her.”